SEOUL - North Korea successfully test-fired an intermediate-range solid-fuel ballistic missile carrying a hypersonic warhead Sunday, according to the official Korean Central News Agency.
The test was aimed at "verifying the gliding and maneuvering characteristics" of such a missile and "the reliability of newly developed multi-stage high-thrust solid-fuel engines", the country's state media reported on Monday.
The South Korean military said earlier that North Korea had fired what was believed to be an intermediate-range ballistic missile toward the Sea of Japan on Sunday, its first such launch of the year. It said the missile was fired from near Pyongyang and flew about a thousand kilometres before falling into the sea.
The Japanese government confirmed that the projectile fell outside Japan's exclusive economic zone with no damage to aircraft or vessels reported. The Japanese Defence Ministry said the missile flew a distance of at least 500km at a maximum altitude of over 50km. KCNA did not state the missile's flight distance or altitude.
A hypersonic missile is designed to travel at more than five times the speed of sound on irregular and low-altitude trajectories. If Pyongyang deploys such weapons, it could make it difficult for Japan, the United States and South Korea to detect and intercept them.
North Korea's Missile Administration said the latest test was part of its "regular activities for developing powerful weapon systems" and did not affect the security of any neighboring country, according to KCNA.
The launch came less than a month after the North fired a solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile amid rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula. Pyongyang recently fired a barrage of artillery shells near the disputed western maritime boundary with South Korea, with Seoul conducting a military exercise in retaliation.